Short Story: The Forlorn Heart By Charmila M Sankar

Charmila M Sankar’s story is poignant take on love and relationships. It captures the unpredictability of life beautifully and leaves the reader teary-eyed.

Rachel kept glancing at her watch. ‘Should have left a little earlier,’ she kept murmuring to herself. She gazed around. The railway station was dark and unoccupied. Her heart started to race, and beads of sweat trickled from her temples. In the distance, a man was sleeping on a wooden bench which he covered with a jacket. Probably he is also waiting for the train, she thought. Impatient for the train to arrive, she trotted up and down the station. She had never been in an unoccupied station before, and it made her agitated. She looked at her dress. Dirty and coffee poured, she smelled weird. The man stirred, and she was taken aback. He looked like a homeless guy who probably sleeps on railway platforms with a full-grown beard and a rustic look. She turned around. Scared, she stayed close to a pillar that she thought might conceal her presence. She decided to stay that way till the train came. I’ll dash off once the door opens, she thought. 

“You think hiding will help” she heard that man say in a groggy voice. “I am not a bad guy, okay. Just because I look like this doesn’t mean I am a … you know…what you think.”

She stayed calm. This man can’t even say the word. He probably wouldn’t be one, she thought. “Then, what are you doing at this hour in this location. This station is at least 40km away from the city,” she asked him, mustering up the courage.